Superheater header



June 19, 1934. w. E. ENGLISH SUPERHEATER HEADER Filed May 22, 1930 2Sheets-Sheet i I 1 L J W f. ind/@2,

June 19, 1934.

SUPERHEATER HEADER Filed May 22. 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 w. E. ENGLISH1,963,740

Patented June 19, 1934 UNITED 'STATES SUPERHEATER HEADER William ErnestEnglish, Bishopston, Swansea, Wales, assignor to TheSuperheater Company,New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application May 22, 1930,Serial No. 454,770 In Great Britain May 25, 1929 s claims. (o1. 122-462)apertures and waved or deformed oppositely at `This invention relates tosuperheater headers for example as used in locomotive boilers but whichmay be also employed in other types of boilers and having longitudinalsaturated and superheated steam passageways or conduits running more orless in parallel with separate branched-off chambers which may bepositioned side by side alternately along the conduits and to which theopposite ends of the tube elements are connected.

Constructions such as above indicated have generally been formed ascastings often in one piece but the high pressures say up to some 950lbs. per square inch now contemplated in steam boilers withcorresponding temperatures of say 750 F. or thereabouts together withthe temperature dierenees set up by the varying heat-absorbingcapacities of Wet and dry steam render the making of satisfactorycastings a complicated and diicult process and it may at times bepractically impossible to obtain castings suitable for such apparatus. y

, The object of the present invention is to overcome objections such asthe foregoing and to provide for the construction of an improvedsuperheater header from material capable of withstanding a high degreeof stress.

The invention consists in a superheater header of the kind indicatedwhich is formed throughout from wrought steel components suitablyconnected together.

The invention further consists in a superheater header having one ormore steel longitudinal components with saturated and superheated steamconduits provided in parallel therein and a series of chambers formedseparately'from steel connected to and branched off alternately fromsaid conduits.

The invention further consists in a superheater header formed of a drawnsteel or like tubular longitudinal component suitably divided to providesaturated and superheated steam conduits side by side and having aseries of steel branchedoil chambers connected alternately with saidconduits and to which the tube elements are attached.

The invention further consists in a superheater header in accordancewith the' preceding paragraph in which a rectangular drawn or otherwiseformed steel tubular component having a` series of circular aperturesvalong one of its broadest sides is divided to provide saturated andsuperheated steam compartments by a longitudinal partition disposed, andWelded in, generally in a plane containing the axes of said alternateapertures to effect a junction with `a part of the perimeter of eachaperture andwith the intervening strips of Wall which may con; stitutetangents thereto.

The invention further consists in a steel superheater header asindicated in which a longitudinal component is constructed from asuitable ingot having saturated and superheated steam con-v duits formedin parallel therein as by drilling while recesses are formed in a linein an `outer side in the material adjacent to both conduits for theconnection of steel branched-off chambers which communicate alternatelywith said saturated and superheated conduits by holes drilled orotherwise formed at suitable angles from said recesses.Y

The invention further consists in a steel superheater header havingseparate longitudinal saturated and superheated conduit components inspaced relationship and a series" of steel transverse branched-offchambers to which the tube elements are attached extending between saidcomponents and connected to conduits of one'or the other alternately. Y

The invention further consists in a superheat-` er header in accordancewith the preceding paragraph" and having a pair of drawn steel conduitcomponents with suitably closed ends positioned in spaced relationshipby a series of transverse chamber components each with an open endconnected by screwing, expanding or otherwise alternately to one orother conduit and with their other ends closed and attached Wheredesirable to the exterior surface of the other conduit coinponent. f

The invention further consists in a steel superheater header havinglongitudinal saturated and superheated steam conduits formed fromwrought material as separate components With a series of forgedtransverse branched-01T chamber components suitably fastened to thelongitudinal components in such a manner that each alternate chamberconnects to one conduit while the i'e-` maining chambers connect to theother conduit.l

The invention further consists in a super-heater header in accordancewith the preceding para# graph having solid drawn hollow rectangularcross section longitudinal saturated and superheated steam conduitcomponents arrangedv side by side with the transverse chamber componentsfastened to the undersides thereof.

The invention further consists in a superheater header in accordancewith the paragraph next but one preceding having solid drawnlongitudinal saturated and superheated steam conduit components arrangedone above the other and each having in section the form of a rectanglewith a corner adjacent to the other rectangle heavily chamfered so thatthe walls of the charnfered regions stand adjacent and more or lessnormal to each other and are provided with apertures into which thealternately oppositely angled branches of a series of parallelbranched-ofi` chamber components are fastened.

The invention further consists in a superheater header in accordancewith any of thelpreceding paragraphs in which the transverse chambercomponents are formed as solid forgings having a at lower surfaceprojecting on each side from an upper half round body part provided atan end with a branch or boss screwed externally formaking a connectionto the longitudinal conduits and the solid material is bored to formtheinternal chamber. The invention further consists in asuperheater headerin accordance with the preceding paragraph in whichthe lower surface ofthe transverse chamber components is provided with a series of pairs ofapertures for reception of the endsv of the tube elements, saidapertures by drilling at opposite inclinations being made to diverge asthey vproceed outward from the chamber and being shaped at their outerends to facilitate connection of the tube element ends. i

The inventionfurther consists in a superheater header `inaccordancewithany; one or moreof the preceding paragraphs in whichslots or spacesare provided between the projecting edges ofthe lower faces of adjacenttransverse chamber 'components for accommodating bolts for connectingthe superheater tube elements and in order to,re. duce the length andprevent rotation of said bolts recesses may be formed in the projectingedges for the bolt heads.

The invention also consists in the improved steel superheater headershavingbranched-off chambers as indicated in the following description. v

Referring now to the accompanying draw- 1ngs: y Figures 1 and 2 are, anelevation anda plan respectively of asuperheater header inaccordancejwith the invention; Y

Figures 3 and are vend views partly insection,

jFigure 5-is a view of the partition ordiaphragm of thesaine header;V

. Figure 6 is a Asection to' an enlarged Vscale through two of thetransverse chamber components, and

Figure .7 is a longitudinal section of a component shown in position ina header of av varied Figures 8 and 9 show anelevation and a planrespectively of a header of the kind shown in section in Figure L V Y Incarrying the invention into eifect in one convenient form shown inFigures l, 2, 3, 4 and j 5 a drawn steel rectangular tubular member asay of91/2. by 5; int ernal dimensions and 1%" thick is made of a-length suiiicient to allow for closing'of theends'. as hereinafterdescribed and is provided along the centre of one of its broader. sideswith a series ofr say eight or other desirable number of circularyapertures b of a suitable size to be provided with internal screwthreads for. the reception of screwthreaded members ofrsay. 4% externaldiameter as hereinafterdescribed.

The internal capacity of the tubular member a is divided into saturatedand superheated steam compartments by inserting a diaphragm or partitionc formed from a strip of material of say l" thick, the material beingoriginally at and remaining substantially so along one edge but beingwaved upon the other edge `alternately upwards and downwards as shown atc', c2 so that when the piece is inserted longitudinally in the tubularmember a the waved edge of the partition plate c will follow aboutone-quarter of the top or bottom of the perimeter of the apertures b.

This partition plate c is made of sufficient width so that after wavingits edges may be planed level and in two parallel planes so that theplate will abut closely against the sides of the Vtwo opposite walls ofthe tubular member a, theone side following a straight line down thecentre of the tube, with the exception of a depression c? for anenlarged aperture hereinafter described and the otherside following rstthe top and then the bottomrof alternate apertures b andabutting againstthe wall between the apertures along a strip c4 inclined so as to formtangents to the curved abutting portions c, c2.

A small depression c3 is made in the centre. of the length of thepartition plate on the opposite edge to the-waves c', c2 to clear a6.diameter tapping hole formed in the wall of the upper. longitudinalcompartment, said hole being positioned as close as possible to theupper side of the compartment and necessitatingv a vdeiieotion of thepartition by some l1/2" at this point.

The two ends of the partitionv plate c are diiferently formed,Y as atone end shown at c5 the full width ofthe plate rises in an inclineddirection from following rather vmore than onequarter of the perimeterof the second aperture up to the top of the tubular member. From thisend c5 one edge is waved downward at the second, fourth, sixth andeighth apertures :as shown at c and upwards at the third, fifth andseventh apertures as shown at c2. -From the wave below the eighthaperture the full width of. the plate shown at c6 so that the edge ofthe plate follows about-one-half Aor rather more of the perimeter of theeighth aperture. v .f

When inposition as indicated and before any closing of the end of thetubular member a takes place, the partition' plate c is welded along thewhole of the length of both of its edges and at both ends to the wallsof the tubular member a with which it is in contact.

The welding is eifected by an acetylene blow pipe or electric welding orother process for example through the apertures in the wall `of thetube, the welding being carried at each aperture round the' peripheryand up tothe line of the centre oi the apertures. At the line'of thecentre of `the aperturesthe welding is carried right through to theother side ofthe plate and-then it is picked up on the other sidethrough the nextapertureand carried round another half and so on untilthe turned-up end portions of the plate are reached, these-regions beingeasily accessible through the unclosed ends of the tu.- bular member a.-Upon the edge of the plate c remote from the apertures the welding issimilarly effected through the apertures in theopposite side, a lengthequivalent to the distance apart of the apertures being welded at oneaperture on one side of the plate and a similar operation performed fromthe nextaperture on the other side of the plate, the welding being careried across at the junction as already described in connection with thewelding of the waved edge. The depressed central portion c3 of thenormally straight edge of the plate is treated as the rest.

The eight apertures b may be positioned at say 6% apart and in thebottom narrow side of the member a there is formed at each end ascrew-threaded hole b2 of say 5" external diameter for the reception ofthe externally screwed branches d for the outlet of the superheatedsteam, the central hole b Vat the top of the centre of the tubularmember' a being for the saturated steam and being also tted with asuitable branch e. This branch may be formed from a short length of 6external diameter 1/" thick tube with a suitable diameter flange formedintegral therewith, the end of the tubeV being screwed into the centralaperture of the tubular member and welded externally. For thesuperheated steam outlets the branches d are formed as tubular elbowshaving say rectangular iianges for 4% internal diameter pipe at theirends so disposed as to be level with the front of the tubular memberwhen the branches are screwed up. These branches d may also be weldedexternally after being screwed in.

The tubular member a may have an overall l length of some 5 feet and theends maybe curved away from the upper to the lower side for example asshown to follow the interior of a locomotive smoke box within which thesuperheater may be fixed. The closing of these ends may be effected inany desired way as for example by the insertion of separate pieces andwelding over of the material of the edge of the walls of the tubularmember to form a pressuretight junction therewith.

The branched-off chamber components f shown enlarged in Figures 6 and '7and in connection with a modied tubular member in the latter View arefitted to the apertures b in the front Wall of the tubular member a andform connecting means for the tubular elements of the superheater.

In one form these chambers may be made from solid steel drilled out andmay be conveniently stamped from a bar having a cross section whichprovides a D-shaped upper part with a somewhat wider or anged lowerportion g. The flanged lower portion g may have a width say of 51A" witha thickness of 11/4 and the D-shaped upper part may have a semicircularback of say 3%" diameter with a parallel intervening portion of some"/8" between the centre of the semicircle and the back of the flangedpart. The overall length of each of these chamber components f may beabout /8 and they may be conveniently drilled or bored lengthwise withsay 2% diameter holes to within a short distance of the closed end, theaxis of the bore corresponding with the centre of the semicircular backso as to leave the metal about y2" thick round the rounded side of thecomponent and about UAL" thick in the centre of the flanged side. At theopen end the anged side will be cut away for a length of say 11/2l toform a circular end h of say 41/4 diameter which will be screw threadedexternally for connection to the tapped apertures b of the headercomponent, the chamber components being spaced 6%" centres along theheader and having the flanged sides of 5%." wide will provideintervening spaces of 11/8 wide in which bolts may be inserted forattaching the tubular elements to the rchambers bymeans of clips of anyknown or convenient form.

The underside flat faces of thel flanged lower portion g of thetransverse chamber components j are provided with apertures i for theree ception of the ends of the superheater tube elements, theseapertures being formed Vby drilling at opposite inclination holesarranged in pairs transversely of theV axis of the chamber components,eachk chamber with 'certain exceptions where necessary beingconveniently provided 'with three pairs of holes, one pair situatedatthe centreand the other two pairs being each adjacent to one or theends. Y i

The holes i of each pair are drilled at an inclination to one another inorder to enter the bored chamber of the component and at the same timeto be spread far enough aparton the surface to permit o1" the connectionofthe tube elements. Countersunk Vor other recesses are formed aroundthe holes to provide suitable seating surfaces for the ends of the tubeelements.

A known form of connectionv for the tube elements may comprise a dog 7'embracing the two tubes Z of an element and provided with a centralaperture through which a bolt ,k is inserted to pull the tube ends intothe recesses of the holes i by means of the dog fi.

A dust cover or shield piece m abutting against 195 the face of theapertures on the header component a and extending over the top and frontof the chamber components f may be provided for protecting the nuts andbolt ends when in use.

In another form of the invention shown in Figures 8 and 9 and enlargedat Figure 7 the tubular member or component may be formed from a solidforging or ingot a of the required length and external dimensions, therebeing provided as for example by drilling two parallel channels orpassageways a2, a3 running from one end to the other of the member a andproviding the separate compartments for saturated and superheated steam.

The exterior may be shaped in any desired manner for example withrounded edges a4 to reduce the thickness of material at the corners andwith a thickened band a5 to provide deeper recesses for screw-threadedconnections.

Along the band a5 of the member a' so formed there is drilled a seriesof holes or recesses b3 which may be 63/8" apart and screw threaded toreceive branched-oir chambers f of a kind similar to those alreadydescribed, the recesses being made of such a depth that suicientmaterial is left between the edge of the recess b3 upon each side andthe bores of the two conduits a2, a3 in the member. Holes b4 or b5 arethen drilled from each of the recesses into one or other of the conduitsalternately and the connection of the branched-off chambers f with theconduits is thus effected. A hole bf is also made in the upper conduita2 at or about the middle of its length for the insertion of a saturated14@ steam branch e and at each end of the lower conduit holes bl areprovided for the insertion of superheated steam outlet branches d allmore or less as hereinbefore described in connection with the otherconstruction. The ends of the drilled conduits may nally be closed inany desirable or convenient manner as for example by means of screwedplugs or other devices.

If desired an ingot or forging of rectangular cross section and suitabledimensions may be used instead of the form last described for thedrilled tubular header member or component.

It is to be understood that the constructions hereinbefore described aregiven by way of exam-V ple only and that modications and additions maybe introduced without departing from the nature of the invention as setforth in thevforegoing statements..

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent iszl. A superheater header comprising acomponent formed to withstand internal pressures of 1000 lbs. per squareinch and upward. and having a series of apertures through one of itswalls in a line parallel to the length of the header, and divided toprovide saturated and superheated steam compartments by a longitudinalpartition disposed generally in a plane with said apertures, passagesbeing provided sloping alternately upward and downward putting saidapertures into communication alternately with said two compartments, andbranched-off chambers fixed to said header so as to communicate withsaid aper- 255 tures.

2. A superheater header comprising a rectangular tubular componentformed to withstand with said conduits and to which the tube elementsare attached.

3. 'A steel superheater header formed to withstand about 10001bs.,pressure per square inch and comprising a longitudinal componentconstructed from a suitable ingot having parallel drilled saturated andsuperheated steam conduits, recesses disposed in a line in an outer sidein the material adjacent to both conduits, a series of steel branched-0Hchambers fixed in said recesses and holes drilled at suitable anglesfrom said recesses which communicate alternately with said saturated andsuperheated conduits.

WILLIAM ERNEST ENGLISH.

